Koketsu ni irazunba koji-o ezu
by jokergirl2001
Summary: Translation: "If you do not enter the tiger's cave, you will not catch its cub." That was why, seven years ago, a little girl was sent to Konoha in order to be a spy. She wasn't meant to become aware of this until she turned sixteen. However, as with many great plans, something went wrong. This leads to a very confused Sakura Haruno with conflicting loyalties. AU.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

 **A/N:**

 **On Listed Characters:** Don't, I repeat _don't_ think too much over the listed characters in the fic description. Sakura's the main character and arguably the most important character in this fic considering it's pretty Sakura-centered. But, characters from both Kirigakure and Konoha play their roles as well.

 **On pairing:** It's undecided. I think I'll put a poll on later, but before the pairing is decided you can just consider this a harem like most of my other Sakura fics.

* * *

 **Chapter I:**

 _A Mouse from Kiri._

* * *

Naruto was knocked out.

Sasuke-kun was screaming in pain beside her.

But, the Uchiha's screams weren't even registering in her ears. The only sound she could really hear was the sound of her heart beating faster and faster in fear as she stared, wide-eyed, at Orochimaru. _The_ Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. Turned traitor after being caught performing illegal experiments. He could kill her with his pinkie if he wanted to.

She was more aware of the fact that she was probably going to die than the fact that she was literally shaking like a leaf.

"W-why?" She croaked out, freezing as the missing-nin's eerie eyes fell on her. He was staring at her with the faint amusement one would stare at a puppy with. "I-if you really w-want Sasuke-kun...w-why send three of your men?"

Sakura, despite how reckless or irrational she acted at times, was the top Kunoichi of her class for a reason. She aced all her tests. She was smart. She compensated for her lack of physical prowess with her intelligence. One might even say she overcompensated by being smart.

That was why she couldn't see Orochimaru's logic.

The Sannin clearly wanted Sasuke-kun. Why send three ninja after them then?

With Naruto knocked out and Sasuke-kun probably following soon, only Sakura would be left. She couldn't protect her teammates. It was a fact. Just like the fact that they were the ones who protected her.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru chuckled just as Sasuke-kun fell unconscious.

The sound sent shivers down her back.

He was going to kill her.

"You're bargaining for your lives. A little mouse trying to talk down a snake."

Sakura flinched, tears gathering in her eyes.

 _Shit_.

The Snake saw right through her. He was definitely going to kill her now. However, Orochimaru's lips merely quirked up in amusement.

"Sasuke-kun will seek me to seek power," Orochimaru stated as if reciting a fact. "In order for him to come seek me, he will need to survive this forest first. He will need a competent kunoichi to make sure the last _loyal_ Uchiha doesn't die from a fever."

Sakura almost felt some relief from the missing-nin's words.

Orochimaru was heavily implying that he'd let her live. That Sasuke-kun was going to live too. Naruto too.

"Unfortunately," Orochimaru drawled, taking a step towards her. "The way you are now is anything but competent."

Before she could react to his words, Orochimaru placed his forefinger on her forehead.

A sharp pulse of chakra that made her feel like her brain was going to explode.

She let out a scream and lifted her hands to clench at her head as if she could get rid of whatever was making her hurt, barely registering Orochimaru muttering about a barbaric seal. She screamed her throat raw even as Orochimaru disappeared.

She passed out.

* * *

 _Faceless._

 _"Such a blood thirsty urchin."_

 _Indifferent._

 _"Future corpse."_

 _Disgusted sneer._

 _"Dead girl walking."_

 _Apathetic._

 _"No future."_

 ** _Grey hair, pink eyes._**

 _A kind...smile? Kindness?_

 _"What's your name?"_

 _A warm feeling._

 _Devotion._

 _"She would make a good spy."_

Sakura lurched forward, eyes wide and alert. Her hand had fallen to her weapons pouch, ready to fling a kunai at anyone. She wasn't on the streets, her skin didn't feel like they were stiff from the cold. She wasn't in Kirigakure.

She was in a forest, her skin felt a breeze hitting her. She was in Konoha.

"What the hell?" Sakura wondered, head still hurting.

It took her a moment to force herself to go into her logic mode in order to process everything and arrange her thoughts. Team seven had just faced the legendary sannin Orochimaru and _lived_. A voice in her head snarked that it would look lovely on her resume if she managed to actually make it out of the forest with her teammates being more of a dead weight than she was.

She ignored the voice to continue cataloging her thoughts.

Orochimaru had done something to Naruto, causing the blond to pass out.

He had also bit Sasuke-kun's neck. A quick check on Sasuke-kun's neck revealed a weird mark that she would definitely have to report to her superiors.

Finally, Orochimaru had basically called her pathetic before literally fucking with her mind. Or rather, he had _forcefully_ used chakra to remove a seal from her mind. A seal that had been repressing almost five years worth of memories.

Memories of when she was a street urchin in Kirigakure. Apparently, now she could say from experience that orphans in Konoha had it _way better_ than in Kirigakure. They didn't have to fend for themselves, loot corpses or literally beat civilians for food.

A snort escaped Sakura as she recalled the one time she had to literally fight off a group of older kids for a riceball.

Her snort died midway when she finally realized something important.

 _'I'm a spy.'_

Her, unassuming and less than average in all areas except for theory. Co-founder of Sasuke-kun's fan club. Top kunoichi of her year.

 _She was a fucking spy_.

From Kirigakure.


End file.
